CVE-2023-48578 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 12/15/2023
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.18 and earlier are affected by a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by a low-privileged attacker to inject malicious scripts into vulnerable form fields. Malicious JavaScript may be executed in a victim’s browser when they browse to the page containing the vulnerable field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/20/2025
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive digital experience platform that enables organizations to create, manage, and deliver digital content across multiple channels. The platform serves as a central hub for content management, personalization, and digital marketing activities, making it a critical component in enterprise digital infrastructure. This vulnerability affects versions 6.5.18 and earlier, which have been widely deployed across various industries including finance, healthcare, and government sectors. The platform's form handling capabilities are essential for user interactions, data collection, and customer engagement processes, making the security of these components paramount to overall system integrity.
The stored cross-site scripting vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the form field processing mechanisms of Adobe Experience Manager. Attackers with low-privileged access can exploit this weakness by submitting malicious JavaScript code through form fields that are subsequently stored in the system's database. When other users navigate to pages containing these vulnerable fields, the malicious scripts execute in their browsers without proper sanitization or context-aware encoding. This flaw operates at the application layer and specifically targets the platform's content rendering pipeline where user-generated data is processed and displayed. The vulnerability is classified as a CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which directly relates to the failure to properly encode data before it is rendered in web contexts. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires minimal privileges to exploit, making it accessible to users with limited access rights who may otherwise have restricted capabilities within the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to potentially hijack user sessions, steal sensitive information, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of victims, and conduct further reconnaissance activities. A successful exploitation could lead to complete compromise of user accounts, especially if the affected users have elevated privileges or access to sensitive data. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that malicious payloads can persist for extended periods, allowing attackers to maintain access and conduct prolonged surveillance activities. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1531: Account Access Removal, as it enables attackers to establish persistent access through compromised user sessions. The impact is particularly severe in enterprise environments where Adobe Experience Manager serves as a central content management system for customer-facing applications, internal portals, and digital marketing campaigns. Organizations may experience data breaches, reputational damage, and compliance violations, especially in regulated industries where user privacy and data protection are critical requirements.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected Adobe Experience Manager instances to version 6.5.19 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes for this vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout their application code, particularly in areas where user-generated content is processed. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against script execution, while regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit the potential impact of compromised accounts, and incident response procedures should be updated to include detection and remediation of stored XSS vulnerabilities. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual form submissions and suspicious user activities that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security awareness training for developers and administrators can help prevent similar vulnerabilities in custom implementations and third-party integrations that may interact with the Adobe Experience Manager platform.